Case Number 17415

ANVIL! THE STORY OF ANVIL

The Charge

At fourteen, they made a pact to rock together forever. They meant it.

Opening Statement

Anvil! is a documentary about a long-running heavy metal band
struggling to earn recognition and respect while still slaving away at grueling
day jobs and dud concerts. That description explains the film's narrative, but
the film is so much more than that. Anyone expecting merely an extended episode
of Behind the Music or a real-life This Is Spinal Tap will be
surprised to discover one of the most powerful and enthralling documentaries
ever made.

Facts of the Case

In Anvil!, director and former screenwriter Sacha Gervasi (The
Terminal), who was a roadie for Anvil in the 1980s, follows guitarist/singer
Steve "Lips" Kudlow and drummer Rob Reiner, the founding members of
Anvil, as they attempt to keep the band going in the face of poorly attended,
sloppily organized concerts, financial difficulties, and emotional upheavals.
Gervasi examines the story of how a once-promising band has ended up all but
forgotten and the effect that their struggles have on their friendship and their
families.

The Evidence

Here's the trick to understanding Anvil!: it's only superficially a
film about heavy metal. You don't have to care about metal, music, or even show
business in general to find yourself affected by it. It's really a film about
the importance of friends and family and how those bonds are tested by hardship
and struggle. It's about having the determination to chase a dream even when
others say that that dream may have already passed you by. It's about living as
a decent, goodhearted human being no matter how many resentments and grudges you
may rightfully hold. More than anything, it's maybe the most moving, hilarious,
and exhilarating film of the year, all the more so because every last frame of
it is real.

By now, the particulars of Anvil's story have become almost legendary. How
Kudlow and Reiner formed Anvil in Toronto in the late '70s and created an
unusual new metal sound that redefined the '70s hard rock sound of Grand Funk
Railroad and Cactus into a sleeker and more intricate style. How their first
three albums -- Hard n' Heavy (1981), Metal On Metal (1982), and
Forged In Fire (1983) -- were released by a tiny independent Canadian
label, selling modestly but attracting a rabidly devoted audience of metal fans.
How some of those fans included Slash, Metallica's Lars Ulrich, Anthrax's Scott
Ian, and Slayer's Tom Araya, musicians who would form hugely significant bands
in their own right and who appear in this film to cite Anvil's influence. How in
1983, having performed concerts with hot metal acts like Bon Jovi, the
Scorpions, and Whitesnake, Anvil was poised to crack the mainstream. How almost
immediately afterwards, a series of misguided business and artistic decisions
resulted in a string of poorly received albums that alienated Anvil's fanbase
and ended their ascent just as it began.

Anvil! does explain some of this, although the film doesn't quite
delve into much detail on Anvil's decline. It does open with some priceless
footage of Anvil in their early-'80s prime, playing a metal festival in Japan
and delivering their infamously lewd and scabrous stage act. Nonetheless, the
film is really more concerned with showing where the members of Anvil are now.
Having missed the brass ring of metal superstardom, Kudlow and Reiner are shown
working mind-numbing day jobs while still struggling to keep Anvil going. They
book a European tour, which goes disastrously; they attempt to record a new
album, which results in fights and financial problems; and they do their best to
support their families while still clinging to their dreams.

If that was all Anvil! showed, then so what? Rock, like every other
performing art, is full of millions of artists who never built on their early
promise, so why should Anvil! matter? The answer is that these scenes do
not make up the bulk of the film. At the real heart of Anvil! is
the relationship between Kudlow and Reiner, who clearly complement each other
perfectly. Kudlow is the impetuous visionary, and Reiner is the laidback
foundation. Between them is a bond that's simply unbreakable, no matter the
circumstances. When they butt heads during the recording sessions for their new
album, the fight is brutal and intense, but ends within hours. When they face
adversity on their ill-fated tour, facing off against shady promoters and greedy
club owners, they stand up for each other. When the two are interviewed
together, they essentially complete each other's sentences like an old married
couple. More than anything, what emerges is how the bond between the two men
(one relative describes them as closer than brothers) is really what keeps Anvil
going despite the meager rewards. Pulling the plug on the band wouldn't just be
ending their dream -- it would mark the end of their friendship, and it's that
friendship, not the prize of rock stardom, that's worth all the hardship and
sacrifice that Kudlow and Reiner endure throughout the film.

It's revelations like these that highlight what an impressive job Gervasi
has done in directing this film. Rather than falling for cheap stories about
rock-and-roll debauchery or attempting to humiliate the band members by laughing
at their adversity, Gervasi humanizes Kudlow and Reiner. They both treat their
families with immense love and respect, they work their day jobs cheerfully and
diligently, and they never come off as bitter or arrogant. When Reiner shows off
the miniature drumsticks that his father, a jeweler and Holocaust survivor, made
for him to remember to always follow his dreams, or when Kudlow's sister agrees
to lend him the money to pay for studio time, you can't help being moved. A
lesser director would have sneeringly painted Anvil as a washed-up joke, but for
Gervasi, Anvil! is clearly a labor of love, a way to salute two men who,
for all their occasional foibles and mistakes, deserve better than their lot in
life. Gervasi's ability to make you care about these men is so skilled that by
Anvil!'s climax, involving a concert that could potentially be either
Anvil's last grasp at glory or a devastating disaster, you'll be on the edge of
your seat, hoping for the best but expecting the worst. That's more than most
scripted films can ask for.

VH1 films has done a nice job in presenting Anvil! on DVD. The
anamorphic 1.85:1 transfer is solid, with no major flaws. Since the film was
shot mostly on video, there's not much room for sparkling visuals, especially on
the archival footage, but what's here looks good enough. It's the Dolby Digital
5.1 mix that excels, providing superb surround effects in various places while
also beefing up the music.

As for extras, there's a healthy smattering, although they're not as
thorough as one would have liked. The best is a commentary with Gervasi, Kudlow,
and Reiner. The three men have plenty to share about the film and the events it
depicts, and there is also plenty of great additional information that fills in
the questions you may have after watching the film. If you liked the film,
you'll love the commentary. Also included are some deleted scenes (12:03), most
of which fill in some stories that were left out of the finished film. Some of
these are particularly poignant, so be prepared; you'll have even more respect
for Kudlow's optimism when you realize what he was really facing during the time
the film was being shot. There's a full performance of "School Love"
(4:17), one of Anvil's best songs, but this one has an added bonus: Gervasi
filled in for Reiner on drums. It's a fun watch. Finally, there's the full
interview with Lars Ulrich (30:06), who discusses Anvil's place in metal history
and how he discovered their music. Fans of both Anvil and Metallica will
definitely want to watch it. These are all good, but why not more? Why not
include more performance footage, or perhaps a brief update on all that has
happened since the film's release? After whetting one's appetite for more Anvil,
the DVD's extras are just not enough to satisfy it.

The Rebuttal Witnesses

If Anvil! can be said to falter in any way, it's that some viewers
might want a little more background into Anvil's music than the film provides.
Maybe a brief segment discussing why Anvil was so important and how they hit
upon their sound would have been useful. Also, it might have been informative to
explain a bit about why exactly Anvil's career went sour. That's not to
shortchange anything that's actually in the film, all of which is essential, but
perhaps a few extra minutes to address these issues would have made
Anvil! even more comprehensive than it already is.

Closing Statement

It doesn't matter how much, if anything, you know about Anvil going into
Anvil!. In fact, viewers who have never heard of the band (and that's
presumably a large portion) will be even more impressed with how the film
effortlessly makes you care about people you didn't even know existed. That's
the power of this film, and why anyone who has ever nursed an unfulfilled dream
or needed the support of a loving family and friend will find Anvil! so
touching. Anvil! is a documentary that anyone, fan or non-fan alike,
needs to see.